arabic coffee experiment

We went to Mama's yesterday for delicious Lebanese food, and Miguel ordered his obligatory Arabic coffee. That stuff is dangerously good!

Well, there was some sludge left over and we decided it would be cool to use it for some abstract artwork. It's so black and thick. It almost looks like oil slick...




Not sure what these will become once they're done. I'm planning to scrape it off once it dries, and hopefully it will leave some cool stains...

mmmmmm...

Frill-necked Lizard

The frill-necked lizard (also known as a frilled lizard or frilled dragon) is so called because of the large ruff of skin which usually lies folded back against its head and neck. When threatened, the lizard opens its mouth and flares its frill to ward off predators. If this doesn't work, it flees on its hind legs to the saftey of a tree.

the vector graphic (step 4)


the drawing (step 3)


the sculpture (step 2)


the study (step 1)

I'm having some difficulty choosing colors, although I think I'm getting close. Stay tuned for pictures of the collage, coming up next...

Cardinal Collage

Cardinal
fabric and thread / 16" x 20"

I really enjoyed making this one. Perfect choice for a nursery!

a few more sculptures

Here are a couple of pieces that I took home from class today:

Frilled Lizard
clay and glaze / 8" x 6" x 5"

Howling Bear
clay / 7" x 3" x 3"

I haven't decided if I want to glaze this one or not. If I do, I will probably use a matte white glaze.

a few sculptures

Today was the last day of my ceramics class, and here are some fruits of my labor!

I made a bunch of these little heads to try different glazes.

each face is slightly different,
so they kinda remind me of the Chinese Terracotta Army

One of our assignments was to create a personal trophy, so I made this animal tree. I've been doing some research on the evolution of animals, and I chose four animals to represent a few ideas I've been learning.

Tree of Animals

clay and glaze / 8" x 8" x 6"

the rhino beetle represents insects,
which were some of the first animals on earth


the salamander represents the idea of
a fish developing into a land animal


the loris represents primates, the animal group to which we humans belong


the bat is a mammal that can fly,
which represents convergent evolution

Here are a couple more animals that I made this semester as well. I particularly like how the glazes turned out on these.



I learned so much this year in my sculpture and ceramics classes! I'm a little sad that there's no summer school, but I'll be keeping busy nonetheless. The sculpting must go on! =)

indignant fur seal

This guy cracks me up! Someone in my class was kind of making me mad when I was working on this, and I think I channeled some of my feelings into his expression.

plus, I love his rolls...

"hrumph!"

gifts for nick and sam

Birds over Torrance
shadow box, vellum paper, wire, and map / 5.5" x 5.5"

I made this diorama for my nephew, Nicholas, who just turned 5! It includes a map of his neighborhood from a 1991 Thomas Guide. I marked his house, attached a few birds with some wire, and framed it in a shadow box. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and will definitely be buying more of these frames from IKEA.

Giraffe
paper and fabric / 5"x7"

I made this fabric collage for my niece, Samatha, who also just had a birthday and turned 3. Upon unwrapping it, I think she was a little disappointed that it wasn't Hello Kitty related. =P But, later she did say "I like giraffes," so that was encouraging!

life is good

Here are a few things that make me happy...

I made this sculpture over the weekend,
inspired by a self-portrait of Francoise Gilot

I'm working on a reproduction of 'Cardinal'
for an expecting couple's nursery

The original art card of the cardinal is 5.5" x 7" and this repro will be 16" x 20". It's nice to be working on a simple composition since it allows me to focus on the textures more. Thanks to Morgan and Matt for commissioning this piece.

...and last but not least, dinner was a success!
Noodle soup, yum-yum. I was happy with how the broth turned out. =)

The Makittuq Family of Muskoxen

This family of muskoxen is standing in defensive formation against a couple of prowling arctic wolves. Makittuq is the Inuit name for "arises, stands up."





The last challenge was to make the background mysterious. I'm happy enough with the results, but the atmosphere needs to be even more intriguing. Maybe if the wolves were more hidden, amidst the swirls of snow...

The snowflakes are cute. I've always loved buttons, and there are some white beads in there too. I congratulate myself for trying something new. =)

What can I do to intensify the scene though? Maybe I need to hide the characters a little — obstruct our view so the story isn't so obvious. After all, mystery is all about the unknown and the unclear, right?

lesson - the drawing is crucial. I should stop and critique at this point.
discovery - bead and button accents add depth and texture to the artwork
challenge - make the scene mysterious by veiling some of it

(To view the study, sculpture, drawing, and vector graphic for this portrait, please view a previous post.)